SAD stages dharna for fair conduct of Zila Parishad, Block Samiti elections

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) staged a dharna led by party president Sukhbir Singh Badal and blocked the main Chowk at Bhikhiwind to protest against the alleged tearing of nomination papers of SAD candidates to prevent them from contesting the Block Samiti and Zila Parishad elections.

Asserting that he was with party workers and would lead all protests to safeguard democracy in the Samiti and Parishad polls from the front, Sukhbir Badal said, "We will not allow this corrupt and failed government to suppress democracy at any cost."

He also rang up the State Election Commission and informed it that the SAD had video evidence of AAP workers tearing the nomination papers of Akali candidates with open support of the police force. Badal also appealed to party workers across the state to file their nomination papers fearlessly and also urged them to launch democratic protests in case they were prevented from filing their nomination papers. He also requested civil officers not to act in a partisan manner by rejecting the nominations of SAD candidates, saying "you will be held accountable for your misdeeds as per law".

Subsequently, the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Tarn Taran, visited the dharna site and ensured that all Akali candidates were allowed to file their nomination papers, following which the dharna was lifted.

Previously, Sukhbir Badal called upon the party candidates to leave no stone unturned to win the election while addressing party workers in Patti. He accompanied the party candidates for filing their nomination papers at the BDPO office and asserted that AAP was resorting to under-hand methods

in the Block Samiti and Zila Parishad elections as it feared complete rejection by the voters.